Sugar
by LovesWritingJ
Summary: "What's your name?"        He hesitated, before flashing her grin that managed to look charming, seductive, and dangerous all at once. "Rider. Alex Rider."


**Hello. **

**Some of you may have noticed I've taken down 'Turn Left' the sequel to 'Red Wine'. I WILL be writing Turn Left after I type out a few chapters and have my entire plotline mapped out. This is a one-shot that just came to me as I was writing out my math homework...inspiration sure does come at the oddest times. **

**'Sugar' takes place in the future. It takes place after Alex has just returned from a mission, though I only give hints of that (e.g. his injuries) and he _does_ work for MI6 in this short story as I believe I do mention Mrs. Jones as Alex is conferencing on his phone. **

**As usual, I do not own Alex rider. All copyright claims go to Anthony Horowitz. **

**Copyright infrigement is not intended. Any names you do recognize are just coincidences. **

**Enjoy and feel free to tell me what to think! **

* * *

Lucy Hale stood in front of the house. It was in a nice neighbourhood, the rich side of London. The house was large, with wide windows and a neatly trimmed front yard. The door was painted a deep shade of blue as were the triple garage doors on the left side of the house.

The sixteen year old steeled herself; stepping forward and stopping in front of the door. Her hand hovered over the doorbell, before dropping back to her side. "I could turn back," she whispered to herself. She shook her head. "No, I have to do this. Stupid mom," she added, and before she could talk herself out of it, pressed the doorbell.

It rang, once, then twice. Silence. No footsteps.

Lucy frowned. Was no one home? That was strange, considering it was nearing seven in the evening. She tried the doorknob. Surpringly, it turned in her hands. She twisted the knob, walking into a grand foyer. She honestly had no idea who lived here. All her mother needed her to do was borrow some sugar from the neighbor next door because _someone_ was too lazy to go out and buy some.

The house was beautiful on the inside too, and the walls were a spotless white. The floor was a dark marble, as were the countertops in the kitchen. There were no photos whatsoever, which creeped her out a bit. How could anyone live here and not have any pictures of themselves, family or friends? It all seemed cold and impersonal as she looked at the glittering, silver crystal drop chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The wrought iron banisters added to the silent, cold look. Whoever lived here made sure no one could tell anything about them except that they had money and used it.

Lucy found herself in the kitchen. The kitchen was bigger than her bedroom, seeing as this house was one of the biggest in the neighborhood. Wineglasses and silver chalices were stacked neatly in a glass case, and the kitchen island was made of gleaming steel. Lucy walked to the cupboard and opened it. Nothing but shining silverware that looked as if they had just been bought. She moved to the next cupboard. Aha! There it was. She grabbed the container, turning it over and seeing the word 'Sugar' labelled in permanent marker.

She jumped as a door slammed in the silence. Shit! Lucy whirled around, her head whipping from side to side as she tried to find somewhere to hide. She ducked behind a wooden door that opened and no doubt led to the dining room, just as someone strode into the room, speaking on the phone.

"Yes. The trip went fine...Yes! The negotiations have been made, Mrs. Jones...I assure you, everything is okay...Yes...alright...of course...tomorrow...? I just got back...Morroco...two weeks off...at least...I was just jetted off to Peru a month ago! I need at least two weeks to heal...yes...you know that's what Dr. Hanes said...I don't give a damn about what Blunt wants! I may work for you officially now, but I am not a machine, I need time to relax...yes...goodbye."

The man—Lucy thought, hung up the phone, before slamming it down onto the steel counter. She could hear the sounds of someone picking up a glass and pouring some liquid, probably water or wine into it. The man opened the cupboards, and she waited for him to move on. But she was greeted by silence. He still hadn't cosed the cupboard. Lucy's heart was pounding in her chest and her legs were starting to ache from her position behind the door.

The cupboard closed with a sharp snap. The foosteps echoed, leaving the room. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. She stood up, and pulled back the mahogany door, coming face to face with a handsome, young, blond man. Probably twenty-one, twenty-two at the oldest.

The man raised a golden eyebrow. "Care to explain how you got in?"

Lucy stepped back, stumbling over her two feet. "I'm s-sorry, sir. It-it's just m-my mom wanted me to grab some sugar and no one was here, so I tried opening the door, and it wasn't locked. I thought I could just grab the sugar and write a note and return it when I was done. I-I don't—didn't mean to break in or anything. Please don't call the police." She hiccuped, surprised when she felt something wet leave a track down her cheek.

To her surprise, the man unfolded a tissue from his jeans pocket, handing it to her. Designer clothes, she observed, looking him up and down. He was wearing dark jeans and a white dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Lucy noticed white bandages wrapped around his upper half, or so she assumed since she could only see a bit of his exposed chest, since only the top three buttons were undone. A dark bruise colored the top of his right cheekbone and his dark brown eyes were bloodshot.

Overall, he was handsome, with or without the bruises. Must be pretty clumsy, she thought to herself. "Thanks," she murmured, sniffing.

The man smiled. "No problem, Lucy."

She managed to give him a tentative smile in return. He reached past her, picking up the container of sugar that she hadn't known she'd dropped. He placed it in her left hand, wrapping the other around it. "Keep it. I can always get another one."

Lucy nodded. "Thank you."

He led her to the front door, where he opened it like a gentleman. She waved, and he gave her a mock salute. Just as the door was about to close she stopped and turned around. "Wait!" She called.

The man looked back at her, the golden light from inside the house illuminating his blond hair in a golden halo. "Yes?"

"What's your name?"

He hesitated, before flashing her grin that managed to look charming, seductive, and dangerous all at once. "Rider. Alex Rider."

* * *

It wasn't until the next day that Lucy realized the man—Alex Rider—knew her name when she'd never told him.

Two days later, a new family moved in, two parents in their forties with their three kids.

Lucy never saw him again, though four years later, the family left, replaced with a single man with no family. She'd never been to that house again, though she sometimes saw the man alone, mowing his lawn and trimming the hedges. And then he would disappear for weeks, or months at a time, always coming back with new bruises or cuts.

And she'd always think about how the man seemd to resemble Alex, even though he had hair a dark midnight black and eyes the color of ice.

* * *

Lucy first met the man with eyes the color of glacier ice as he was pulling into his driveway in his Aston Martin, seven months after he moved in.

"Hey!" She waved, trying to catch his attention. The man looked at her, and Lucy saw her own image being reflected back in the dark sunglasses.

"Yes?"

"What's your name?"

And like Alex—he hesitated for a fraction of a second before shooting her a mischeivious look. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

* * *

**That is a one-shot! And it is finito! **

**So, in case any of you DIDN'T get it...the man that Lucy met at the end _is_ Alex, just with a different identity. No, there will be no continuation, unless I come up with something for this, though I sincerely doubt it. Lucy is my own character, Anthony Horowitz has never mentioned her and never will. **

**Until we meet again...I bid you all ado. **


End file.
